Alternative office programs. Free alternative to Microsoft Office - review of office managers (LibreOffice and OpenOffice)

I have a lot of requests for an article on reviewing alternative spreadsheet editors. Many people are still not interested in the excellent online services (officially free) described in. Well, you’ll have to step on “the throat of your own song.” What can replace Excel when it is impossible or inconvenient to use? I will try to objectively evaluate what alternative Excel there is, among free solutions, including online ones.

As they say, “start with the end goal in mind.” Those. Why are people still looking for a replacement for Excel, even if there are free versions online? There are several reasons, it seems to me:

1. Excel does not have any convenient functions
2. A legal entity is not ready to use Excel because of the cost of the software, and, for example, the security policy does not allow using the online service.
3. I like the version, but it doesn’t have enough features (my version)
4. You don't look for easy ways.

Excel alternative. Top Free Excel Competitors

Google Spreadsheets- one of the most powerful spreadsheet editors. The main advantage is powerful online work capabilities, incl. in shared files. We all know that Google's strategy is fundamentally different from MS. There are a lot of free services here. Google makes money by monetizing those users who are able or willing to pay. Yes, there are quite a few of them.

LibreOffice.Calc - free software product. It is used in many companies as a free alternative to MS Office. First of all, it is a program installed on a PC. Actually a branch from OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice ( OpenOffice.org) — as the name suggests, it belongs to Apache (transferred to Oracle). Since 2011, switched to the Apache License. Those. is not a completely free system. I probably won’t consider it in comparison.

Zoho Office - in general, the first editor that I began to use as an alternative to Excel while still a student, it developed very quickly then and has now turned into a giant.

SoftMaker FreeOffice- definitely the easiest option for quick installation, the installation file weighs ~50 MB. Installs quickly. Minimum set of functions. An excellent option when everything needs to be done quickly.

WPS— this office suite is highly praised, we’ll look into it, I haven’t tested it myself yet.

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Office programs are needed on any computer, home or work. Write essays, prepare presentations, calculate the family budget in a table - whatever one may say, you can’t do without standard software. The most popular package is Microsoft Office, but you have to pay for it. Just in case, we remind you that we have, with which Office 365 will cost less than $20. But if you're not willing to pay at all, here are free alternatives.

Microsoft Office Online

Platform: web

In fact, Microsoft provides free access to its office suite online through a browser. But not everything: only Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote are available. The web version of MS Office requires a Microsoft account (if you have Skype, you most likely have one).

The online version of MS Office, of course, natively supports all Microsoft document formats - docx, xlsx, pptx and their earlier versions (doc, xls, ppt), as well as open formats odt, ods, odp. You can use it purely intuitively, since its interface is similar to new versions of desktop Office. Created documents are saved in the OneDrive cloud. This means that you can work together with them - just give access to the right people via a link.

Documents, however, can be downloaded to a computer in MS Office formats or open formats for offline editing, as well as exported to PDF. The downside is that the online version does not support all the functions of the offline editor (for example, you cannot create a pivot table or an HTML document from a Word file in it). But overall, Microsoft's offer is quite generous.

Google Docs

Platforms: web, Android

Microsoft would never have brought Office online if Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets didn't exist. The world's most popular office collaboration product, integrated with Google Drive, Android operating system and Chrome browser.

To work, you need a Google account (if you have an Android smartphone, you have one). Google Docs perfectly supports all Microsoft office formats, as well as open document formats. The created files are saved in Google Drive, but they can also be exported to your computer - including in HTML, RTF, TXT and EPUB formats. Or edit offline in a browser: to do this you need to install the Chrome browser extension.

The office product has a minimalistic interface, but it’s simply packed with various hidden features - we even . And most importantly, the product is focused on collaboration, and provides a lot of opportunities for collective editing of documents, and in real time.

Apple iWork

Platforms: web, Mac OS, iOS

For fans of Apple devices and software, there is a free alternative to “office”. Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote let you work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, respectively.

To work with the package, you need MacOS, where it is preinstalled, or an Apple ID to access the iCloud cloud. If you have an iPhone, you have an Apple ID - just go to the iCloud website and enter it. Apple iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office formats and reads them easily. The software package also offers the ability to collaborate with documents, including with PC users (although they will also have to register an Apple ID).

A distinctive feature of this package is the use of proprietary Apple technology features, such as the Apple Pencil on the iPad. In addition, the interface of the Apple office suite is very different from Microsoft Office - for example, in spreadsheets you will see not a table, but a blank sheet. You'll have to get used to this.

LibreOffice

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS

The most famous Linux office document editor, developed by volunteers from the Open Document Foundation and pre-installed in the popular Ubuntu distribution, is in fact available for almost all platforms - both desktop and mobile. But it does not have a web version, as well as joint editing capabilities - this is a product for individual work with documents.

But it provides analogues of almost all popular elements of the MS Office package: Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (PowerPoint), Base (Access), Draw (Visio), as well as the Libre Office Math formula editor, which has its equivalent in MS Office No. By default, LibreOffice works with the free OpenDocument formats, but can read MS Office documents and export your work to them.

What a modern user might not like is the old-fashioned editor interface, which evokes Office 2003. The lack of collaboration capabilities is also not very encouraging in 2019. And the saddest thing is the LibreOffice mobile applications, which are only capable of viewing files: they cannot be edited. This can be attributed to development on a voluntary basis, but it is already difficult to compete with such opportunities.

OnlyOffice

Platforms: web, Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android

The most interesting project OnlyOffice seems to have set itself the goal of embracing the immensity. This is what we think, and OnlyOffice simply decided to create a free office suite that is 100% compatible with the official Microsoft formats: docx, xlsx and pptx. Any file (for example, ODF) that gets into OnlyOffice editors is converted into one of them. At the same time, the software itself is open source; it can even be “forked” on GitHub.

The project is interesting because it is cross-platform. First, documents, presentations, and spreadsheets can be shared through a browser. Secondly, desktop versions have a modern interface, similar to the new MS Office. Thirdly, mobile applications are full-featured editors - not like the previous package.

Both a plus and a minus at the same time: the online version of the office suite, in turn, is a simple electronic document management system - this is a solution for business. You need to register as a representative of the company, and in the future, pay for space in the cloud. The same applies to mobile applications. Only desktop editors are completely open and free.

WPS Office

Platforms: Windows, Linux, Android, iOS

This office suite is familiar to many users of inexpensive Chinese-made phones. The fact is that this is indeed a Chinese copy of Microsoft Office, and quite close to the original. The rule “if there is something good in the West,” works 100% here.

The package includes an editor for documents, tables and presentations, as well as programs for working with PDF, including a converter. Collaboration is not provided - this is also an exclusively individual decision. But synchronization of changes on desktop and mobile devices is available, as in Google Docs.

But at the same time, it is closed - whether to take a closed-source Chinese program on your computer or mobile depends on the level of your paranoia. Although, looking at the list of supported formats, you can close your eyes to this.

OpenOffice

Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

Let's write about this editor out of respect, because it is the first competitor to MS Office on the Linux platform. Now he “lives” under the wing of the Apache Foundation, although how to say he lives - the key developers left the project a long time ago, and its condition has changed little since the late 2000s, when it just “took off”.

The package is intended for installation exclusively on the desktop; collaboration capabilities are not provided. But the set of editors is the same as Libre Office, that is, databases, diagrams, presentations, and mathematics.

OpenOffice works great with ODF formats - that's what it's designed for. Support for Microsoft Office formats is average; the older the format, the better the support. But the interface - welcome to 2003. Moreover, the project is over twenty years old, it is extremely respected, and many continue to use it. Perhaps you are among them?

1. Google Docs - online word processor. In terms of the number of capabilities and features, it cannot compete with MS Word, but is accessible from any computer connected to the Internet. Google Docs is used at General Electric. By the way, I have been using Google Docs as my main word processor for three weeks now, despite the fact that there is no need to type texts from different computers (my working tool is a laptop). It’s just that Google Docs is free, and I personally am completely satisfied with its functionality. :)

2. Zoho Writer is another online word processor. It has a pretty good interface and has additional features (compared to Google Docs). WWD thinks it's worth a try.

3. ajaxWrite - its distinctive feature is that you do not need to register on the site to get started.

4. - cross-platform open source word processor. Its advantage is a quick start (when compared with MS Office and OpenOffice).

5. DarkRoom - a ported version of WriteRoom (a text editor for Mac). DarkRoom requires .NET installed on the system.

6. JDarkRoom is another alternative to WriteRoom, a cross-platform application. Powered by JAVA, distributed free of charge.

7. Writer - we mention WriteRoom again, only this is an online option.

8. Writer.app is a word processor for Mac. Flexibly customizable, many possibilities.

9. TextEdit - a text almost-processor that comes with Mac OS X. It can read and create documents of various formats, incl. DOC, RTF, HTML.

10. RoughDraft is a free word processor (Windows) that is said to be specifically designed for writers. So if you're writing a new novel, check out this program, you might like it.

On my own behalf, I would like to add that under Windows I worked in OpenOffice.org, and under Mac I really like TextEdit. In rare cases when complex formatting is required, I use NeoOffice (this is the same OpenOffice.org, but with a Cocoa interface). What do you use?

The popular Microsoft Office suite of office applications needs no introduction. Many IT specialists, corporate and home users everywhere use this tool to work with various types of documents: texts, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, etc. The software solution of the software corporation provides invaluable assistance to students and graduate students preparing essays, coursework and dissertations. works, as well as candidate dissertations. The audience of product users is huge, and it is not surprising that Microsoft Office has long become the de facto standard in office work all over the world, and alternative office products, willy-nilly, have to ensure compatibility with the brainchild of the Redmond gurus and adapt to the leader. Each of the competitors manages to cope with this task in different ways, and in order to identify the best of them, we decided to conduct a small comparative review of the free analogues of Microsoft Office currently presented on the software market.

To begin with, let's define the requirements for alternative office suites, of which there are few, but all of them are significant for those who suddenly decide to migrate from Microsoft Office at any cost. Firstly, as noted above, they should be as compatible as possible with Redmond development in formats. The second strict requirement is functionality, which must fully meet the needs of ordinary users. Thirdly, the product interface should show some similarity with the original. The reason lies in the conservatism characteristic of many people, which forces them to greet any changes (even changes for the better) with hostility. Finally, fourthly, programs must be able to work with the Russian language, check grammar and spelling, and communicate with the user in a language he understands. I would also like to see Russified help documentation and Russian-language technical support service in the packages. This is ideal.

We’ve more or less sorted out the theory, it’s time to move on to practice, or rather, to getting acquainted with alternative office packages that are distributed free of charge.

We should start the review, of course, with OpenOffice.org - a project known to many users, developed by members of the community of the same name, working under the patronage of Oracle and now seeking to escape the tutelage of the famous corporation. The reason for this unexpected decision was the company's policy, which forced the OOo developers to doubt the future of the free suite of office applications that passed into the hands of Oracle as a result of the acquisition of Sun Microsystems. As a result, the curators of OpenOffice.org created the organization The Document Foundation, which will reportedly further develop and promote the project, but under the new name LibreOffice. We'll talk about it a little later, but for now we'll concentrate on describing the office suite OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 pro, created by the Infra-Resource company based on the OOo project and most suitable for domestic users.

The assembly of the software product presented by domestic developers differs from the original edition in being more compatible with Cyrillic documents, contains all the necessary modules for spell checking, and also has many other differences that increase the comfort of work for Russian-speaking users. Among the most noticeable differences from the basic version of OpenOffice.org, company specialists highlight improved compatibility with Microsoft Office documents, new automated templates for employees of electronic stores, new controls that speed up the insertion of web pages into documents, improved VBA support and other innovations. It is also reported that the product code has been optimized to ensure the latter can work on low-performance netbooks.

The OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 pro package consists of the Writer text editor, the Calc spreadsheet processor, the Impress presentation program, the Draw vector graphics editor, the Math formula editor and the Base database management module. Also, the professional edition of the office suite includes detailed Russian-language help and an impressive set of pre-installed add-ons that expand the functionality of the product. Thanks to the mechanism of plug-ins, OOo users can customize the program to solve various problems and thereby achieve maximum performance when working with documents of different formats. Free Office supports the Office Open XML (OOXML) format used by default in Microsoft Office 2007/2010 and has an interface familiar to old-school users. All this can also be written down as advantages of OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 pro. The product has practically no negative aspects, except for excessive appetite for PC RAM, which manifests itself when opening heavy files, and occasional collisions when opening documents with complex formatting and ornate layout. Fortunately, such files are not found so often.

OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 pro is available for Windows and Linux platforms. You can download the application distribution from here. Using the link provided, you can also find a portable version of the office suite that does not require installation and runs from a flash drive on any Windows computer. Additionally, we recommend bookmarking your browser with the Russian-language wiki encyclopedia created by the employees of the Infra-Resource company, located at wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/RU and storing a lot of useful information for users, developers, localizers and testers of the free office application package .

Since we are talking about OpenOffice.org and the crafts created on its basis, it makes sense to say a few words about the independent offshoot of the project mentioned above - LibreOffice, available for the Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Externally, the successor to the open office is indistinguishable from the original, and all the differences lie in the internal filling, which has absorbed the developments of the related project Go-oo. LibreOffice is characterized by high speed, improved support for binary formats, improved tools for importing diagrams from the Visio package, integration with the Linux multimedia subsystem, tools for executing VBA macros in a spreadsheet processor and other innovations. Currently the package is presented in the form of the first beta version with index 3.3.0 and is available only in English. Localization and implementation of a spell checking system - all this, according to representatives of The Document Foundation community, is a matter of the near future. We would like to warn anyone who is planning to try out the test build of LibreOffice that it is not compatible with the OOo builds installed on the computer, and the program installer automatically removes them from the disk. The developers are aware of the problem and promise to fix this defect soon.

There are a lot of both laudatory and negative reviews on the Internet about another alternative office suite, KOffice, available for various platforms, including Windows. This product includes the KWord text editor, the KSpread spreadsheet processor, the KPresenter presentation program, the KPlato project management system, the Karbon vector graphics editor and a number of other applications. Currently, version 2.2.2 of the program is presented on the developers’ website, but only version 2.1.0 is available for Windows users to install through the KDE on Windows installer, which is outdated, endlessly reporting some intricate errors, and not seeing documents with extensions.doc , .xls, .ppt and localization files. Perhaps KOffice functions properly in its native Linux environment, but this office product is clearly not a viable option on Windows yet. It is quite possible that it is for this reason that the product developers are in no hurry to prepare detailed instructions for installing the program into the mentioned operating system.

Much better in terms of execution is the collection of office programs GNOME Office, which is well known to Linux users. Unlike the products listed above, GNOME Office includes the Evolution application, designed for working with email and scheduling tasks. This is the first distinguishing feature of the application. There is also a second one, concerning interaction with ODF, OOXML and many other document formats. Finally, the third characteristic of GNOME Office is support for the Russian language and low demands on computer computing resources. As for the disadvantages, many users note as disadvantages the limited functionality of some products included in the package and a small number of tools ported to the Windows platform. Cross-platform

Let us sum up the results, which, alas, are not so comforting. With all the apparent variety of free office suites, there are not as many as we would like, and the vast majority of them are remakes of the well-known OpenOffice.org, which, in fact, explains both the similarity of most of the products discussed in this article and the lack of worthy competitors. The overwhelming number of developers prefer to follow the path of least resistance and modify the same solution, scattering efforts that could be focused on creating even one product, but capable of competing on equal terms with MS Office. The situation is in many ways similar to Linux distributions, whose developers are churning out copies of the platform year after year at a Stakhanov pace, without focusing on its quality components. Is open source to blame for this? Probably, partly yes. As for the solutions considered, the best of them are OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 pro, Lotus Symphony 1.3 and the newly created LibreOffice, the final version of which will definitely be a favorite in the free and open source software market. The struggle for a place in the sun will definitely be serious, and the good news is that consumers, that is, you and me, will win one way or another.